Groups Laud Hispanic-Education Appointments, But Urge Vigilance

Nearly a year after President Bush signed an executive
order launching an initiative on Hispanic education,
advisory-commission members and a permanent executive director have
been appointed.

Last month's move quelled rising anger among Hispanic leaders, who
say they were on the verge of organizing a news conference to denounce
the Administration's inaction.

In interviews last week, representatives of Hispanic organizations
generally praised the selection of John Florez as executive director of
the initiative and expressed optimism about its future.

"For the first time, I'm hopeful that the executive order will move
forward," said James J. Lyons, executive director of the National
Association for Bilingual Education. "I'm impressed by the way [Mr.
Florez] intends to organize this."

Nonetheless, some concern remains about the Administration's
commitment to improving education for Hispanic children.

Among the critics is Richard Marquez, a Dallas school administrator
who served as acting director of the initiative for 10 months of his
18-month stint in the Education Department.

Because the Administration does not view the initiative as a high
priority, he said in an interview, the Hispanic community should
exercise vigilance to ensure that it moves forward.

"I don't think there's a lot of good faith," Mr. Marquez said.
"There can be a great deal of empathy and working with Hispanics at the
local level by Republicans, but there's no sympathy at the national
level at all."

But Mr. Florez, the new director, said the delay in appointing a
commission is indicative not of a lack of interest on the
Administration's part, but of the slow speed at which the federal
bureaucracy moves.

"The White House has to find the people, get them to agree [to
serve], and that takes time, especially when some people hack out,
which I understand happened here," Mr. Florez said. "Having a turnover
in the Secretary's office certainly slowed things down as well."

Commission Created

Led by the National Council of La Raza, Hispanic groups began
pushing for an executive order on Hispanic education in 1989. In
December of that year, Mr. Bush appointed a task force with a narrower
scope than the groups had sought and without the authority of an
executive order.

Its specific mandate was to assess the participation of Hispanics in
federal education programs and to make suggestions relevant to the
establishment of national education goals, which had not yet been
drafted.

But the task force, led by former Secretary of Education Lauro F.
Cavazos, held heatings on a broad range of issues and recommended that
the President issue an executive order.

Mr. Cavazos hecame convinced that such an order was needed, and
observers credit him with helping to overcome the strong objections of
White House officials.

The order did not require federal agencies to draft plans for
increasing Hispanic participation in education programs and submit
performance reports, as the N.C.L.R. had wanted.

But it did empower the coramission to report on agencies' efforts,
as well as to advise the Secretary of Education and the President on
the educational status of Hispanics, on how to improve federal
programs, and on ways to establish links between the department and
educators and community leaders serving Hispanics.

An executive director was appointed, but left the government within
a month for personal reasons.

Put on Ice

Mr. Cavazos was asked to leave in December 1990, and the initiative
was put on ice, according to Hispanic leaders and Mr. Marquez.

Mr. Marquez, who was hired by Mr. Cavazos as a dropout-prevention
expert, served as acting director from November 1990 until he returned
to Dallas in September.

In an interview, Mr. Marquez said that his hands were tied because
the White House stalled on appointing a commission, and that he was
eventually stripped of the two aides he had started with.

"They down-graded it little by little, then drop-kicked it after I
left," he said, referring to the initiative's move from the Secretary's
office to the office of elementary and secondary education.

"The only reason it got done was that we had a Hispanic at the helm
of the Education Department," he said.

Some Hispamc activists accept the Administration's explanation that
the change in Secretaries inevitably slowed down the process; others
say the delay was inexcusable.

"It only took [Secretary of Education] Lamar Alexander a couple of
months to put together America 2000," said Denise de la Rosa, an
education analyst at the N.C.L.R., referring to the education strategy
Mr. Bush unveiled in April.

Mr. Florez suggested that Mr. Marquez could have done more to
overcome bureaucratic inertia.

"You can sit around here and twiddle your thumbs," Mr. Florez said,
"or you can have a plan."

Getting the Train Moving

Mr. Florez said he has a plan. It calls for establishing
"performance standards" for federal education programs in every agency,
encouraging innovative local programs serving Hispanics, producing a
"report card" on Hispanic education, and stimulating Hispanics to
become involved in local America 2000 activities.

Mr. Florez acknowledged that the stated objectives of the Hispanic
initiative are related only indirectly to those of the Administration
strategy, which calls for a national assessment system, choice
experiments that include private schools, the creation of innovative
"new American schools," and community-based efforts to work toward the
national goals that include published "report cards."

"The only way this can work is if we are part of the organization's
agenda, and America 2000 is that agenda," Mr. Florez said.

Hispanic activists generally agreed with Mr. Florez, although some
expressed doubts about the Administration agenda.

Cesar Collantes, a special assistant to Jose Velez, national
president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said linking
the initiative to America 2000 would effectively broaden its scope "to
the larger education system and how it delivers for Hispanic
Americans."

Such an approach would also bring Hispanic concerns to the
Administration's attention, Mr. Collantes added.

Acknowledging that some Hispanic organizations are unhappy with
America 2000, he said, "But I've always felt that if there is a train
leaving the station you should get on."

"If you don't like the conductor," Mr. Collantes added, "change him,
and get the train moving in the right direction."

Concerns Over America 2000

The aspects of America 2000 that most concern Hispanic activists are
national testing and educational choice.

Opponents argue that the testing system favored by the
Administration would hurt minority students, who as a group fare poorly
on standardized exams.

Critics also fear that choice plans would relegate to undesirable
schools children who are difficult to educate and children whose
parents are not equipped to make an informed choice.

"What happens to the schools who are not chosen and to kids who
don't negotiate the marketplace?" asked Janice Petrovich, national
director of ASPIRA, an advocacy organization that promotes education
and leadership development for Hispanic youths. "Kids cannot be thrown
out like defective widgets."

One issue that alarmed some members of the Hispanic community at the
time the executive order was issued appears to have faded.

A memorandum issued with the order stated that the Administration
would encourage preschool English instruction for children who are not
proficient in English. Mr. Cavazos had argued that such an approach
might obviate the need for bilingual education later.

Hispanic educators objected that it takes more than a couple of
years to become proficient in a new language, that such early English
instruction could be developmentally inappropriate, and that it would
alienate children from their Spanish-speaking parents.

Mr. Lyons said Mr. Florez did not mention early English instruction
in a recent meeting with Hispanic groups.

"I think that whole idea went out with Cavazos," Mr. Lyons said.

Enough Support?

Hispanic activists have expressed disappointment with the
commission's composition, noting that it is heavily weighted with
business people and residents of the Southwest, and that it includes no
members of Puerto Rican or Central American descent.

Several organizations have written to Administration officials
asking that these imbalances be remedied with appointments to the seven
slots the Administration has yet to fill.

But Administration officials have said they will not accede to
Hispanic groups' request to house the initiative in the Secretary's
office. Mr. Florez is in the office of migrant-education programs, and
reports to the assistant secretary for elementary and secondary
education.

"We are concerned about whether [Mr. Florez] will have the support
from the White House he needs to leverage support from the other
agencies that need to be involved," Ms. de la Rosa of the N.C.L.R.
said. "Also, this can not be seen as just an elementary and secondary
issue. It has to involve higher education, adult education, and
programs outside the Education Department."

Mr. Florez said he would not have taken the job if he were not sure
of support from top officials, particularly Deputy Secretary David T.
Kearns, whom he calls a personal friend.

He has cultivated other powerful friends in Republican circles
during his career, which includes a stint working on civil-rights
issues for Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah and tenures in the Department
of Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor during the
Reagan and Bush administrations.

But Mr. Florez was once assistant director for field operations for
the National Urban Coalition and describes himself as "an old
civilrights activist."

"I'll work with anyone who will help me get the job done," he
said.

Vol. 11, Issue 07, Pages 18-19

Notice: We recently upgraded our comments. (Learn more here.) If you are logged in as a subscriber or registered user and already have a Display Name on edweek.org, you can post comments. If you do not already have a Display Name, please create one here.

Ground Rules for Posting
We encourage lively debate, but please be respectful of others. Profanity and personal attacks are prohibited. By commenting, you are agreeing to abide by our user agreement.
All comments are public.